1. RESEARCH OF THE
ARTIST
OLIVVER THE KID- FREAK
"There's definitely a selfish aspect to being an entertainer. I think the selfish aspect for me is
that I'm not religious, so I want to leave behind something tangible."
2. BIOGRAPHY
Olivver the kid is a 24 year old artist from Los Angeles. He has delved into the world
of songwriting and has branched out into his own unique style of music. He was first
in the band called ‘The Neighborhood’, but now after he left the band, he has gone
solo and released some amazing new singles over the past 12 months. He is a new
upcoming artist but one that is rising quickly in the industry and is growing his fan
base, not only in LA but Russia and United kingdom. He has got over 7 thousand
subscribers on YouTube, 47,089 views on his release ‘Bbblue’, still expanding, and
has been noticed and recommended to the public in numerous articles online which
is furthering his success.
The reason as to why we wanted to design our music video and advertisement
around his music is because his songs have variation. They tend to start of very
beautifully and calm then eventually the elements build up to create an upbeat
rhythm with amazing melodies running through it. We also really liked the overall
style of his videos and branding because it’s very simplistic but has such meaning
and narrative behind it, which makes it very effective. I think that taking aspects
from his videos and creating a music video for his song ‘In the woods’, would lead
to a really good outcome and has already made us think of lots of ways to represent
the songs lyrics through visuals.
3. HIS INFLUENCES & INSPIRATION
Its important to understand what Olivver the kids influences where and why he
makes the music he does so that we can this and use it to create a video that’s
representative of his style. In an interview I found that he grew up listening and
playing to hard-core and punk bands which may have been a partial influence to the
sort of music he makes today. His genre is indie pop, however aspects like
meaningful lyrics that connect the artist or band with their songs is something that
is associated with both of these genres. When asked about what the album ‘the boy
who cried wolf’ and what it means he said that he doesn’t want to tell the audience
exactly what it means but instead want his audience to infer from what the lyrics in
each song on the album mean. ‘In the woods’ gives the impression of the
incapability to escape from something and having the will to keep away from it.
From analysing the lyrics it could be about a few different things, one may be
addiction or possibly being in a toxic relationship. He said in an interview, shown on
the right, that its not about a literal addiction in relation to him but more so him
getting out of something that overruled him , but watching his friends be controlled
by it. We assume he means drug addiction, but he also states that its not a drug
addiction but something else.
http://www.coupdemainmagazine.com/interviews/interview-2016-must-know-
olivver-kid
4. This leaves the viewers wondering whether it could possibly be
mental health disorders, a situation or any other form of addiction. It
lets his audience see into his lifer and the album obviously is telling a
story of an aspect of his life that he wanted to share.
He then goes on to talk about he wanted ‘In the woods’ as well as
every song within the album ‘the boy who cried wolf’ to be
interpretive. The album is about “these woods and these two people
in the woods”, in a literal sense but he then goes on and says “it’s a
metaphor for whatever your fear is, or your addiction”. His whole
album is telling a story and how it progresses which is a interesting
concept and really give his audience an insight to him and his state of
mind. Although ‘in the woods doesn’t have a music video, this
interview, identifying what influenced him or what experiences he
has had that have led him making this album and analysing songs
from the same album that do have a music video will give me a clear
idea of what things I need to include in my music video.
5. GENRE CHARACTERISTICS
The genre of Olivver the kids music is indie pop, through watching some of Olivver the kids music
videos, as well as other artists that are similar to his style of music, I have identified characteristics
that are used within this genre.
1) The Settings within the music video are of low budget and are usually filmed in woods, urban
districts, rural areas or other places that don’t need to be hired for use. This is a good way to save
their budget so that they can use it on other aspects of the video but also an effective way of
creating mystery within the video. By shooting in open rural areas, it can create the idea of
loneliness or emptiness or possibly the illusion of been free with no one to impress and simply
being with yourself alone. shooting in a forest can give a mystic, eaary or quite a beautiful twist of
how forests can make you aware of how small you are relative to the rest of the world and can be
used to emphasise the feeling of been watched or shadowed. Filming in an urban environment
can be used to show how a person fits in with society, whether they fit in with the flow of people
or stand out. However When people are filmed in an urban district with no one around it can look
isolating or possibly could be used to make it seem as if its been imaged or wished by the person
that it was empty. It could be used to emphasis their thought are or what environment they desire
in contrast to the situation they’re actually in.
6. 2) Live performances tend to also be included in indie pop music videos because they
show the artists or bands passion for music and creates atmosphere so that the
audience can connect with them. It also brings the music video back to reality
because in a lot of indie pop music they have a plot and by intertwining this, with live
performance shots, it brings the viewer back to the actual band and the music rather
than just watching a story.
3) In a lot of music videos they use editing techniques and filters to create the style
they want. For example, Haze filters that are used a lot in indie pop videos, can create
the impression of the past and looks as if it was shot using film. In a few of Olivver the
kid’s music videos, they have either shot or edited the film so that it looks a grainy
which again makes it look as if it was shot using film rolls and adds a retro feel. These
filters can make it look as if its films in the past but can also be used to create a sense
of make believe or imagination to the video and are effective to make sections of film
look as if their a persons imagination.
4) Use of artificial as well as natural lighting in the music video s another technique
that is used in indie pop videos. Natural lighting is used in shots that are filmed
outside like woodland or urban environments, and artificial lighting is used in studio
shots or live performance scenes. They also use a mixture in some scenes where they
might be filming a close up outside and therefore use artificial lighting to make their
face have good lighting to get the most flattering outcome, and natural lighting to
keep it look as if they’re in a natural setting.
7. 5) The key thing that the majority of indie pop artists do in their music videos is tie their
lyrics to a story line or plot. Olivver the kid does this in most of his videos and does it
very effectively to give the viewers a connection to his music because they will follow
the plot of his videos as if it’s a real story and can infer things from the way the lyrics,
visuals and music all metamorph as the song goes on. The song we have chosen ‘In the
woods’ by Olivver the kid was never made with a music video, along with the other 4
tracks on that album, however I’m going to analyse a selection of his other music videos
so that I can get the over all feel and identify specific characteristics he does in his
videos.
6) One thing that I have noticed in most of Olivver the Kids music videos is that he likes
to use masks in his music videos. This isn’t something that tends to be used or perhaps
an abstract idea that isn’t used commonly in other artists music videos who are similar
to Olivver the kid. I think that its something he liked to do or likes the concept of not
giving the viewers an idea who the song is talking about. By this, I don’t mean a literal
person that his songs could be about, but more what that person represents. For
example the use of a mask in our production of ‘In the woods’, would be relevant
because the song and the whole album are about escaping; the mystery is what from.
The mask adds to the mystery and means that narrative is told through other ways that
their expression or reaction. This is an aspect of Olivver the kids videos that is very
distinctive to his style and therefore to make a music video in his style, this is something
that we need to take forward.
